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Topic: Wheel turning in neutral (Read 1017 times)

When my 350cc with 5spd is on the centerstand in neutral with the engine running, the rear wheel creeps around very slowly in a circle. Give it some gas, and the wheel really gets moving.

You can easily stop the motion with a light hand on the rear tire, however. Clutch is properly adjusted, and the motion stops when you pull the lever in.

My 4spd also did this, but not with such gusto...that might just be more power developing during break-in after the transmission swap-out at 100 miles on the odo, however.

What causes this? Is this a problem or indication that something's amiss? An Indian friend claimed it was a sign of something good, but I forget what...you hear a lot of weird stuff about these bikes here, and I've just started filtering most of it out.

The oil in the gearbox acts as a hydraulic coupler between the moving and non-moving parts. I'll bet you can see a difference in the effect when it's cold and the oil is thicker and when it gets warm, especially if you're using a single weight oil. Totally normal.

As the transmission input shaft and output shaft are on the same center with one of them running inside the other when one turns, the oil between the shafts causes both to turn even though the transmission is in neutral.

If the clutch is pulled in the movement might stop but usually there is viscous drag from the oil between the clutch plates so the input shaft on the transmission still will rotate, causing the output shaft to continue to rotate.